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Federal health care reform will save Maryland $829 million over the next 10 years, according to projections by a state commission looking at how the new law will affect the state.

The savings are detailed in an interim report released Monday by a state panel considering issues for Maryland to address under the federal reform law.

The major reforms, including exchanges to give consumers insurance options and an expansion of Medicaid for low-income people, take effect in 2014.

Administrative and infrastructure expenses related to enrolling the uninsured in the exchanges will increase the state's cost. But other reform elements, including more federal aid for children's health insurance and taxes applied to premiums on insurance products, will lead to savings and new revenue for the state, according to the report.

The state's savings is expected to peak at $875 million in fiscal 2019 before declining in fiscal 2020, "when Maryland is projected to spend $46 million in that year as a result of health care reform than the state would have spent in that year in the absence of health care reform," the report said.

The council is forming work groups to focus on six areas related to the reform. They are:

-How to create a health insurance exchange.

-How to easily enroll consumers in health care coverage.

-How to educate the public about what the changes will mean.

-How to provide a "safety net" for people who will remain uninsured or who have needs that will not be covered by insurance.

-How to build the state's health care work force.

-How to use existing programs and develop new ones that will hold down costs while improving health.